


Of rusty vans and haunted houses

by Narina



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Chewie is a dog, F/M, German University AU, Ghost Hunter AU, Haunted Houses, M/M, Modern AU, the Falcon is a VW Bulli
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2018-11-03 10:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10965561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narina/pseuds/Narina
Summary: They just wanted to explore the supposedly haunted abandoned buildings. They never expected a spray painter and her grumpy cousin. They also didn't expect to actually find ghosts.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this happened today in the writing alliance. I blame you all, so have fun with it, I love this AU.

It was raining so hard; he could barely see the other side of the street. Students ran around, trying to stay as dry as possible and failing miserably. Luke tried to find his sister, but the only thing he saw clearly was the lone seagull searching the trash for food. Other people joined him under the roof of the bus stop shelter, but still no Leia in sight. She had probably lost track of the time again, she tended to do that during discussions with her professors. He wasn’t really mad at her, he just wanted to catch the last bus and head home to finally have some food. 

Just when he decided to call her, the bus came to a stop, students left the shelter and pushed each other around while trying to catch one of the last seats or at least a relatively comfortable place to stand. Luke shoved his phone back into his pocket and sat down on the metal bench. There was no sense in hurrying now, the bus was already leaving and Leia still hadn’t appeared. They had other options, of course, longer routes where they had to stop and change busses at the main station. Walking was not an option during this storm. 

A loud, explosion-like sound came from the parking across the street, followed by a dog barking. Luke frowned, but he wasn’t able to see anything. He just heard a man curse about something while the dog continued to bark. He thought of going over to help when a small figure appeared, soaked by rain and breathing heavily. 

“I’m so sorry!” Leia said. “I was talking and …”

“I know.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “Calm down. It’s okay.”

“But the bus, we…” 

A new sound interrupted them, the man cursed louder, the dog seemed to be running around. At least he saw a silhouette. “We should go have a look. There’s no one else around and we have to wait anyway.”

Leia looked sceptical, but she nodded. Not that he gave her much of a choice, he stepped out in the rain and supressed a shiver. The parking lot was mostly empty, the cars probably belonged to the professors and the source of trouble was an ancient VW bus that seemed to be falling apart any minute. 

“Chewie, no!” The dog wagged his tail, bringing tool after tool to his master who was never satisfied. “Give me that. Yeah, thanks.” The doors stood open and Luke caught a glimpse of the inside before returning his attention to the owner. He cleared his throat.

“Can we help?”

“Huh?”

“You know … with the car.”

“Oh.” The guy stood up, took a look at them and shrugged. “Can you hold stuff?”

“I suppose?” 

“Good. Chewie keeps running away with what I need.”

Leia let out a small laugh which Luke took as a good sign. He followed the stranger around his vehicle, briefly thinking about the stories he’d heard as a child, while Leia befriended the dog. It wasn’t as if there was anything going to happen. He was an adult and this was the university’s campus. What could possibly happen?

“So, just hold this here while I fix the stuff.” 

Luke didn’t understand a word of what the guy was saying – he’d never had a car or been able to afford one – but he did what he was told and a triumphing “Ha!” made him smile. 

“Thanks, kid.” 

He wanted to protest the name but it was probably right. He was only nineteen. “You’re welcome.”

“Could you take us home?” Leia had suddenly appeared, the dog looked very happy because of the attention she had been giving him. 

“Think the effort was big enough for that, princess?”

He saw the look on his sister’s face, saw her put her hands to her hips and decided to intervene. “We could give you dinner, too. Just, could we please get out of the rain?”

Both of them stared at him and the stranger sighed. “Fine. I’m Han, this is Chewie. I’ve got towels in the back.”

“Thanks.” He smiled brightly. “I’m Luke, this is my sister Leia.”


	2. Chapter 2

Their small kitchen smelled of wet dog and Indian curry. Leia stirred, took a sip of her beer and wished she could open the window. She couldn’t, though, the storm would flood their flat in minutes and they’d have to explain that to their landlord. It was already risky to have Chewie, another dog, in here, some of the neighbours were very fussy when it came to rules, but they hadn’t wanted to leave the dog out in the rain or the van. Right now, he was happily munching the food they had bought on their way home, remembering how little of Gary’s food they’d had left.

She still wasn’t sure about the owner. Han seemed nice enough, but his van had been full of returnable bottles and canned food. She had also spotted various blankets and she wouldn’t have been surprised to find drugs. Luke seemed to like him and she didn’t want her brother to find the wrong friends. 

“Dinner’s almost ready,” she told them. They were all wearing dry clothes by now, Chewie had gotten one of their biggest towels to lie on and Gary had immediately joined him. “Can you get the plates?”

“Sure.” Luke moved around carefully, somehow managing to avoid bumping into counters or the dog. Han remained sitting at the table and looked as if he enjoyed not having the cheapest beer for once. Leia had once tried what they sold in those cans and then refused to ever buy that again. 

“You know, he could help us.” Luke was an overly excited child again and she slowly placed the pot on the table. 

“Help us?” she asked.

“Yeah, hold on.” Han raised a hand. “You helped me, you got me food, I got you home. That’s it.” 

“But you have a car.” Luke’s enthusiasm didn’t falter and she knew how very few people had ever been able to withstand him when he really wanted something. “There’re some abandoned buildings we want to explore and we need a car to get there.”

Han, who had been filling his plate, paused mid-motion. He stared at Luke, then at her, then at Luke again. “You’re crazy.”

“No, it’s interesting. Come on, it could be fun.”

Han didn’t look convinced, Luke didn’t want to give up and Leia didn’t want to see her brother upset. It was time to change Han’s mind. 

“You know, that’s a bad idea.” She filled her own plate, sitting down to enjoy the meal. “The car is trash, it won’t make it. We have to find another way.”

Luke opened his mouth but Han was faster. “My car is _not_ trash!” he insisted. “I’m gonna prove it. Where is this place?”

“Out in the wilderness. We found an old map, it should be about an hour from here.” Luke smiled at her and she gave him a small nod. Honestly, she was curious about these buildings. The photographs she had discovered had showed some lovely houses. 

“Where the hell do you just find an old map?”

“The library,” she replied. “I’m studying history.”

“Well, I study physics but I’ve never randomly found old stuff lying around.”

Leia shrugged. “Guess I was lucky.” She didn’t need to tell him she had been looking for possibly abandoned places because of her brother’s curiosity. “So, you’re in? When are you free?”

“I’m always free, princess.”

She pressed her lips together. “Don’t call me that. I have a name.”

“I’d be careful,” Luke advised with a small grin. “She punched people for less.”

For a brief moment, Han seemed somewhat impressed. “Well then. Weather’s supposed to be nice this weekend. And Chewie could use some fresh air.”

She exchanged a look with her brother. They hadn’t expected to be going so soon but she didn’t mind. The sooner they got this done, the sooner Luke could go on from this to the next crazy idea. “Sounds good. We’ll get our stuff ready. And we’re taking Gary with us,” she added with a nod to her own dog.


	3. Chapter 3

This was a terrible idea. Not because his van wouldn’t make the long journey – he knew it would, the _Falcon_ was amazingly strong – but because of his company. Luke was fine, mostly. He was a little too curious about everything, but that was kind of cute. Leia, on the other hand, would probably strangle him as soon as she got the slightest hint of him being a bad influence on her brother. He felt her piercing looks and that didn’t make driving through the woods any easier. 

“We should be there soon.”

“If we’re not, we’ll get stuck in the mud and you’ll have to get the _Falcon_ out.”

“You named your car?” Leia raised an eyebrow, Luke stared out of the window, hopefully looking for signs of buildings. 

“Of course I did. It deserves a great name.”

She shook her head but at least she made no further comment on the matter. Which meant he didn’t get a chance to throw her out. 

“Look!” Luke grinned widely, pointing at a roof between the trees. Han narrowed his eyes.

“I see it. Is there a place I can park?”

In the end, he settled for a batch of grass that was dry enough to support the van. He had to admit, the building must’ve been pretty. Most of the windows were broken and the walls had seen better days, but it used to be a nice house with a front porch. 

“This looks like a drug dealer hideout.” Luke stared with his mouth open and Han chuckled.

“Not even close,” he said without thinking. “They’re usually in urban areas, much cleaner and no spray paint.”

“And how do _you_ know about that?” Leia crossed her arms, narrowed her eyes and probably thought of a dozen ways to hide his body in these woods. 

“I used to smuggle drugs for a living. Relax,” he added. “It’s all in the past and no matter how hard they try, I don’t work for them anymore.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“If I was still in business, do you think I’d be living in my van?”

“You … what?” That seemed to shut her up. Luke was already wandering off to explore, Leia stared. “You _live_ in that thing?”

“Do I look like I can afford more?”

“What about university? Where do they send the stuff for you?”

“I have a friend. Can’t show up at his house too often, but it’s enough to get my mail.”

Leia didn’t look convinced but decided following her brother was more important. Han let out a sigh of relief, carefully took the gun from his car and hid it under his shirt. If things got dirty, he wanted to be able to defend himself.

And things did go wrong, just not the way he had expected. Chewie was letting Gary chase him through the high grass and honestly, part of the reason he had agreed to this was the fact that the dogs got along so well. He wanted to call Luke back, tell him not to stray too far in case someone _was_ here but of course, he was too late. 

His hand fell to his gun as he saw the masked figure stepping out of the shadows, a knife in one hand and some kind of spray can in the other. Luke came to a sudden stop, Leia moved towards him and had a knife pointing at her. Han closed his fingers around his weapon. 

“What do you want? We don’t like trespassers!”

“We, uh …” Luke cleared his throat and tried to smile. “Sorry, we heard this was abandoned. We just wanted to explore, take some pictures.”

“Oh.” The stranger sighed and put the knife away. “You’re that kind of visitors.” As the mask was lifted, Han got a first look at the girl. She had unruly, colourful hair and some smudges of paint on her face. 

“You just trust us?” he asked, stepping closer to the house. She stood on the porch and the wood creaked under her boots. “Just like that?”

“Listen, I know people. Your friend here looks too honest to be one of those stupid teenagers trying to cause chaos in our home.”

“So you’re not alone,” Leia stated. “Who else is here?”

“Just my cousin. Look, if you want to take photos, I can give you the tour. We cleaned up some rooms but the basement looks perfectly haunted, even at times there’re no ghosts.”

He snorted. “As if there ever was one.”

The stranger – she was older than he had first thought, probably just a few years younger than himself – smiled. “Oh, you’d be surprised. I’m Sabine, by the way, you want to stay the night? I make amazing cocktails.”

Han looked at her colourful appearance and somehow didn’t doubt her skills in the kitchen. “You go on. I’ll watch the car and the dogs”, he added, sitting down on one of the rusty chairs that stood around. He had seen enough unpleasant places to spare himself of this one. Time spent in the sun sounded a lot better.


	4. Chapter 4

She had to admit, it could’ve been worse. Sabine had a talent for telling stories and Luke had gotten the chance to take some amazing pictures. Seeing her brother happy always lightened her mood. Now, though, she was rummaging through an entire walk-in closet full of food, trying to find the dog food Sabine had promised her. Gary needed dinner and she hadn’t expected to be staying overnight, so she hadn’t brought any. 

“What are you doing here?”

Leia whirled around at the sound of a new voice, raising one of her hands as she saw a guy she didn’t know. He had black hair and the same eyes as Sabine, but his face was harder and she immediately pushed back the thought that he was attractive. “Sabine told me to find food for Gary,” she said carefully, pointing to her dog who made no sign of disliking the stranger.

“Ah.” Suddenly, he seemed a lot friendlier and also exhausted, as if he was tired of putting up with things she didn’t know. “Guess it’s alright, I’ll just let you …”

The shutting door interrupted him and Leia thought she heard someone laughing like a child that comes up with jokes no one else finds funny. “What the …?” she began, but he shook his head, slowly turning to look at the door.

“It’s locked.”

“Someone locked us into a closet?”

“Probably Yoda.”

“Who?”

He shrugged. “He’s a swamp goblin. Harmless, but annoying and not exactly sane.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“I wish I was.” His eyes showed nothing but honesty and as she stared at him, he didn’t move. No, Leia thought, he wasn’t a liar. Somehow, that scared her more than any ghost story ever could. 

“Great.” She sighed, sitting down and pulling Gary onto her lap. At least her dog was comforting as always. “Since we’re stuck, we should get to know each other, right? I’m Leia.”

“Boba.”

~

The hamburgers were delicious and he briefly wondered where Leia went. He figured she was taking one of her naps, that happened after exhausting time with people. Luke knew better than to bother her and as long as Gary wasn’t raising an alarm, everything was fine. 

“Oh, this is good!” Han looked delighted as he tried the whiskey Sabine had given them. “Where did you get this?”

Sabine grinned. “My cousin has his sources. Sometimes, people can’t pay him in money so they give him stuff like this. We don’t drink it, so enjoy.”

“I will.” Han refilled his glass. “You want some?”

“Oh, no.” Luke shook his head, raising his beer. “I’m good.”

“Awesome.” 

It got darker as they sat together, drinking and enjoying the campfire. Eventually, Sabine excused herself with urgent business he didn’t want to know about. Instead, he got comfortable, stretching out on the blanket she had left them, gently petting Chewie who had managed to lie on both his and Han’s lap at once.

“Y’know, I’M glad I left the army back then.”

“You were in the army?” Luke sat up again, almost accidently pushing Chewie away, eager to learn more about Han. “How was it?”

“The pay was nice.” Han stifled a laugh, drank more whiskey and scratched the back of his neck. Luke was amazed how clearly he still talked after all that alcohol. “Found Chewie during my service.” The dog looked up, made a happy sound and rolled on his back. 

“You found him?” 

“Yeah. Freed him from some assholes and refused to let him go. They made me decide.” He snorted. “As if I’d give him up for the army.”

“What happened afterwards? How did you manage to get around? Do you have family support?”

“Easy, junior.” Han laughed and Luke felt himself blush for asking too many question at once. “Don’t really have family, but I got some part time jobs and the van. Used to work for smugglers but I hope I won’t be seeing them again.”

“Oh.” Part of him wanted to offer to be a part of Han’s new makeshift family, but they didn’t even know each other that well. It was too sappy and he wasn’t that drunk. Hopefully, they’d keep working together. Maybe he’d get to know Han as good as he wanted to. 

~

At first, she didn’t know why Gary started barking and pressing into her side. She tried to calm him, but he didn’t listen and tugged at her sleeve. That was when she finally got an idea. “Do you have the time?”

Boba looked up, reaching for his pockets to retrieve his phone. Her own was outside and she silently cursed herself for that. “Almost eleven. Why?”

“Shit, damn it!” She got up, searching every pocket without finding what she needed.

“Is everything alright?” Boba had been quiet most of the time, but he had petted Gary and the smile had made him even more attractive. Usually, being locked in a closet with a hot guy was nothing but a dream. Usually, they were alone and had the same intentions from the beginning. 

“I need to take my meds,” she explained, trying to focus. “But they’re outside.”

“Why didn’t you say so before?” He got up, stepping closer to the door. “Stay back.”

Leia didn’t move. She just stared as he kicked in the door, effortlessly and effectively. “Wow,” she managed to say. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” 

She knew lots of ways to thank him, but for now, she settled for a smile and then headed off to find her bag with the meds. As she got outside, where the Van was, she stopped, frowning in confusion. Han and Luke were still outside, by the fire, and Han seemed to be talking while Luke listened like a lovesick teenager. She closed her eyes and sighed. For him, she hoped the best. Hoped it wouldn’t end painfully because she’d probably have to punch Han if he hurt her brother. 

Shaking her head, she finally got her bag, her meds and the Van’s bed. Since the boys were outside, she had all the room for herself.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this took forever. I hope to do better in the future, but I can't promise anything. Too many other projects that want my attention and I feel like this is developing into something huge. With lots of ghost hunting and shipping.

The party was so boring, Leia wanted to go back to exploring haunted houses. Even if that meant meeting strange people – it could only be better than this. She yawned, ordered another drink and hoped that alcohol would make it better. A friend had told her that she needed to show up, that it would be an amazing evening, and Leia had wanted to believe her. Now her friend had disappeared and she was alone by the bar. 

Leia thought about texting her brother but he had said something about spending time with Han and Chewie and she didn’t want to interrupt that. So she was stuck and she didn’t even know which student council had organized the party – not that she cared but thinking about that was better than staring at people who were too drunk and too high to be interesting company. 

Someone walked up to her after two more drinks. By now, she was feeling better – though she would probably regret it in the morning. Leia pushed those thoughts away and took a good look at the newcomer. He was tall and kind of attractive, so she nodded when he asked her to dance. At least that would keep her busy. 

The stranger wasn’t a great dancer and she wished he would shut up, but that was still better than nothing. And he was obviously interested, so why not have some fun? Leia decided to enjoy herself – until someone interrupted them. She whirled around, ready to tell someone to fuck off, but stopped when she saw Boba Fett. It had been two weeks since they had been locked in a closet together and she had not expected to see him here. 

“What do you want?” The guy she had been dancing with had vanished. So much for that. Leia crossed her arms but allowed Boba to guide her off the dance floor. 

“Stop you from making a mistake.”

“Really now?” She raised an eyebrow, tempted to buy another drink. “Are you saying I should rather sleep with you?”

That left him silent for a brief moment. “I’m saying you’re drunk and if you were sober, you would not try to leave with a guy like that.”

“I am not drunk,” she corrected. “I am tipsy. Now what’s so bad about him? Will he kill me?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Now it was her turn to be quiet. “Seriously?”

“I could get you the criminal records of every person in this room.”

“Does that include your own?” Curiously, she cocked her head. Did he have a record? For all she knew, he lived in a haunted house along with his cousin. But how did they make a living?

“Yes,” he answered, looking directly at her. Leia raised her chin and held his gaze. “And he knows that.”

“If that is supposed to scare me, it doesn’t. Why do you even care about what happens to me?”

“Because Sabine decided to like you and your friends and I’m not going to disappoint her by letting you run off with some creep.”

“But I want company.” She was pouting – maybe she was more than just a little drunk. Not that she was ever going to admit that. “And if you don’t let me go with one of these guys, are you going to take me home?”

His face was unreadable but she stepped a little closer and placed a hand on his chest. Boba just stared. 

“I will make sure you get into your bed safely,” he stated and she sighed. This was going to take some time, but at least he allowed her to take his hand – not that she needed it to keep standing. She was perfectly fine. 

~

He had been disappointed when heavy rains had interrupted their plans of going to an abandoned building to search for ghosts. But now he was sitting on his couch with Han, they were playing video games and Gary was cuddled up next to Chewie, so this evening wasn’t too bad after all. 

“Yes!” Luke jumped a little, leaning forward as if that would improve his skill. He wasn’t the worst driver – even if Mario Kart had some very nasty roads – but Han kept beating him. Right now, after being thrown off the rainbow road and being stuck in last place for a while, he had finally gotten a rocket to boost his character – Baby Mario, because that was cute. Han had laughed and he had lightly punched him, resulting in more laugh and a few kisses. That was something they had started by that campfire in the forest and Luke didn’t want to miss it anymore. He liked Han’s company and he liked being close to him. Leia knew, of course, but she hadn’t tried to kill Han so that was probably a good sign. 

“Oh no, that is too easy!”

Luke tried to ignore the fact that Han got a little closer, trying to distract him. It was working too well, though, he almost fell off the road several times. Luckily, Han also distracted himself and soon, Luke was sure that none of them would win this round. 

The rain had stopped by the time he put away his controller to rest his head on Han’s shoulder. They hadn’t scored anything on rainbow road but he was still grinning and let out a sigh as he was pulled into a tight hug.

“That really wasn’t fair,” Han mumbled, causing Luke to grin even wider.

“I’m sure I can make it up to you.”

“Good.” Han cupped his cheek, turning his face and kissing him. “I was hoping you wouldn’t want to play video games all night.”


End file.
